Indonesia hails dirt-poor world champion

A runner who could barely afford a pair of sneakers and lived in a shanty has become Indonesia's first 100m junior world champion, prompting an outpouring of accolades in his home country.

Lalu Muhammad Zohri, 18, won the gold medal in 100m at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, on Wednesday after outpacing favourites from the United States.

Few Indonesians had heard of Zohri before Wednesday, as details about his impoverished upbringing on the tourist island of Lombok emerged hours later.

Local media published photos of his creaky, dilapidated wooden house and interviews with his family, who said that his parents died in 2015 and 2017.

"We are proud of Lalu Muhammad Zohri's achievement," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Friday.

"I have ordered the Ministry of Works to come to Lombok to rebuild his house," he said.

The Indonesian military has also offered to renovate Zohri's house and make him a member of the army.

Zohri's sister said he was a silent person without many demands.

"When he trained he didn't wear shoes because he didn't have any," she was quoted as saying by news website Kompas.com.

"It has been his dream to make his family happy and build a house," she said.